Month: June 2014

Father’s Day is coming up. If you’re stretching for ideas on what to get him, ask yourself: Does my dad own a pickup? If the answer is yes, then any of these gift ideas could work for you.

EZ-RETRIEVER® II Cargo Reaching Tool. MSRP: $19.95

#1. EZ-RETRIEVER® II Cargo Reaching Tool

One reality of truck ownership is that cargo loves to work its way up to the front of the bed while you’re driving. This makes it unreachable from the tailgate and a pain to get by reaching over the bedrail.

As a father myself, I’d love it if my daughter bought me one of these. Then again, I’d be very confused, because she’s 22 months old and has no concept of money.

ACCESS™ AA Battery LED Light. MSRP: $39.95

#2. ACCESS™ AA Battery LED Light

Does your dad ever gripe about how he needs more light somewhere, be it in his truck, his toolbox or his closet?

Give him an ACCESS™ AA Battery LED Light. This battery-powered light uses a strong 3M adhesive to stick most anywhere you need it, and the automatic shut-off means your dad won’t kill the batteries if he forgets to turn it off.

Here’s a video that shows how to install this light, and many ways it can be used:

Also, if your dad is into doing his own electrical projects, you can consider the ACCESS™ LED Lights, which come in four different lengths and can be hooked into any 12-volt power source.

ACCESS® Cargo Management Kit. MSRP starts at $44.90

#3. ACCESS® Cargo Management Kits

The kit uses the Truck Bed Pockets to create useful storage for smaller items behind the wheelwells of the truck bed. The pockets also have notches that hold the EZ-RETRIEVER® II Cargo Reaching Tool to create a fence at the back of the truck bed to keep larger items organized.

And if you really want to surprise him, you could pitch in and help with installing everything. Here’s a video that details all the steps in installing an ACCESS® Limited Roll-Up Cover and all the accessories:

It’s time we went through what’s going on in the truck industry lately. Here’s what’s happening with trucks.

Nissan

The big news from Nissan just this morning was its hint via Instagram of its new pickup, which it says will be revealed June 11.

Jalopnik has more analysis of this news. I wonder if this might be the new Frontier, and if it could have that diesel I4 that they teased earlier this year.

Toyota

Toyota dropped some big news about its American operations last month: It’s moving lots of jobs to Plano, Texas. Toyota already makes its Tundra pickup near San Antonio, but now its headquarters will be in the state too.

Also, remember that Power Wagon Ram revealed earlier this year? Some complained that it got a big gas engine instead of a Cummins diesel. Here’s why Ram took the gasser route.

Ford

The Blue Oval sold its 500,000 F-150 with an EcoBoost engine in May. Starting this fall, Ford will offer two different EcoBoost V6 engines in its aluminum-bodied F-150, and it will be interesting to see how those engines perform.

Ford is releasing more information about its new F-150 and they are doing everything they can to show customers how strong and durable their aluminum-bodied trucks can be. For example, they announced last week that they had sent a few prototype aluminum-bedded trucks to a few customers for some undercover testing back in 2011. And here’s a collection of torture-test videos with the F-150.

Also, Ford just released this video about the assembly process going into its new pickups: